With the Formula 1 season right around the corner it’s always nice to remember some of the more ludicrously bonkers things about the sport, like what a steering wheel is. I know that might not sound exciting, but LOOK AT THIS THING!
F1 steering wheels are basically Dreamcast controllers
Here’s your reminder than F1 steering wheels are ridiculously complex
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
I know a Sega Dreamcast controller when I see one. I’m pretty sure this has an emulator inside it to play GameBoy Advance games too. Yes, this is an actual F1 steering wheel these days, and if your mind is blown it’s completely understandable.
This is 2023’s design, which has been more or less the same for a decade, minor some minor tweaks. In 2014 Wired took a deep dive into Sebastian Vettel’s steering wheel, and everything that’s available to a driver mid-race. It’s a balance of art a science unlike anything else in motorsports. It essentially makes the driver both the pilot of the car, as well as the mid-race engineer.
A driver can do everything from adjust their clutch, to modifying their brakes mid-race. This allows them to modify the car based on conditions, and how they’re feeling each individual track. Beyond that they can tweak the power of their turbo, their differential through corners, and of course hit the DRS button when needed.
It’s just nice to remember that when we see the best drivers in the world cruising around the track they’re also smacking buttons with the fury of an esports great to get everything feeling just how they like it.
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